


At the End of the Line

by athletiger



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Fix-It of Sorts, M/M, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Sorry Not Sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-04-30 07:33:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14491962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/athletiger/pseuds/athletiger
Summary: Tony was the last man standing on the first line of defense between the fight against Thanos and Earth. He was desperate, for if Thanos got the last two stones, there was no telling as to what damages he would cause with the snap of his fingers. But he was the last man standing, and only time would tell before Thanos became bored with toying with him.For Prompt Fill "Avengers: Infinity War" on the 2018 STONY MCU Bingo.





	At the End of the Line

It was a shock when Thanos stuck that rebar into Tony's side, but he was not entirely surprised. He knew, going into this fight, that it was highly likely that he would not survive this encounter, with him being a near god and all. But they were the first line of defense between Thanos and the Earth, and with everyone else already down, it was inevitable that eventually Tony would fall too. At least he would go out with a bang, Tony supposed, but he just wished that Steve was there fighting by his side just like before.

Because even when they became estranged, the Avengers were still _family._..but they weren’t here now. All he had were newly formed alliances and his protege to fight against this monster. And as much as they helped in the fight, they weren’t _them_ ; they never fought like oiled gears, each one’s skills complementing the rest of the team. They were misfit bandits, and it sorely showed.

Thanos pressed forwards relentlessly, pushing his makeshift weapon further into Tony's bare chest. It was all Tony could do to stubbornly cling on to the weapon as to not further exacerbate the near life-threatening injury if Thanos were to let go of it, as well as keep him distracting for some futile hope that one of his allies would come and help him. His would narrowed to two points: the throbbing gash in his side and the may-as-well-be omnipotent being casually pushing forwards like his fight with Tony was mere child's play. Tony stumbled backwards until he could go no further, his back pressing against a barrier. He looked into the eyes of Thanos, and saw only eerie calm and destruction in his eyes. He shivered. This guy should never reach Earth, no matter the cost.

"Stop!"

Thanos stopped his attack. Tony breathed the best he could with a weapon stuck in his side, just a brief respite from the battle he fought earlier.

"Let him go, and I will give you the Time Stone," Dr. Strange said. Tony's breath caught.

"Don't...!" he started saying, but Strange had already materialized the gem from thin air, the glow of the stone shining brilliantly in his hands.

Thanos smiled. "Give it here." Strange transported the stone through the air, only stopping once it reached his outstretched hand. Tony watched in horror when Thanos closed his hand around it and brought his fist down to the gauntlet.

The draw of the gauntlet compelled the stone to fit in the crevice, and the green gem took it's place besides its brothers.

"Thank you," Thanos said.

And then he stuck his gauntleted hand deep into Tony's chest. Tony's eyes widened, blood dribbling down the corner of his mouth.

"It was very noble of you to give me the stone," Thanos said, lifting his arm up and taking Tony with it. Tony clutched his arm, trying to dislodge his grip from his chest, even though he knew it was in vain. "But you still gave me hell instead of just giving yourself up to me in the first place. So, I will take his life for payment, and we'll call it even, hmm?"

Thanos walked forward, and the portal between Titan and Earth opened. Tony could acutely feel his life force leaving his body. He dared not look down, but there was a strange red glow emitting from within his body, and he couldn't help but stare at it.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Thanos rumbled. "The soul stone is trying to heal you, but it can't while my hand is stuck within you. Every time it gives you a little bit of its power, it is taking away some of your soul. A fitting loop, isn't it?"

Tony couldn't speak, not with the foreign object that is currently stuck deep within his lungs. If he had the capacity of his vocal cords, he would have told Thanos that his soul was already gone, taken by the one he betrayed three years ago. He coughed painfully and his eyes blurred.

Through his glazed eyes, he could barely see that he was no longer on Titan; trees surrounded them when the portal closed. Earth?

That's it then. His fight was over.

"Tony?" Steve. I’m sorry that I couldn’t stop him. It's up to you now.

Thanos let go of the broken, soulless body of Tony Stark at the feet of his love, and he died staring up at his distraught face for the first time since Steve Rogers left Siberia.

**Author's Note:**

> First time posting an MCU fic! Hi, name's Ath. Nice to meet you. Super excited to finally get into the groove of actually writing fanfic for this fandom after trolling it for a while. Cool, bye!


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